Somalia’s Lower House Suspends 19 Lawmakers for Disorder Amid Constitutional Dispute

Saturday, February 7, 2026

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s lower house of parliament has suspended 19 lawmakers for repeatedly disrupting legislative sessions, a move that underscores deepening political rifts over contentious constitutional amendments.

The decision was issued in an official letter from acting speaker and second deputy speaker Abdullahi Omar Abshirow, who said the lawmakers were barred from attending several upcoming sessions after causing chaos during a sitting on Feb. 2. The letter said the members violated the House of the People’s rules of procedure, undermined order in the chamber and obstructed the legislative process.

Parliamentary security agencies were instructed to enforce the suspension in line with parliamentary rules and to maintain security and order inside the legislature, according to the statement.

The suspensions come amid mounting tension over proposed changes to the provisional constitution. The federal government argues the amendments are necessary to complete Somalia’s long-delayed constitutional review and stabilize governance. But critics — including lawmakers in both chambers, opposition coalitions, and the federal member states of Puntland State and Jubbaland — warn the overhaul risks concentrating power in Mogadishu and weakening the country’s fragile federal system.

In recent months, parliament has been repeatedly disrupted as competing blocs clash over process and substance. The turmoil reflects broader strains as Somalia contends with electoral delays, fraught relations between the federal government and regional states, and sustained pressure to resolve fundamental constitutional questions long postponed since the country adopted its provisional charter.

While the letter did not detail the duration of the suspensions beyond “several sessions,” the directive empowers parliamentary security to prevent the sanctioned lawmakers from accessing the chamber and to enforce order during future sittings. No timeline for a return to the floor was included in the statement.

Supporters of the reforms say clarifying the division of powers and finalizing the charter is critical to consolidating state institutions and ending years of ad hoc political bargains. Opponents counter that rushing changes without broad consensus risks igniting fresh confrontations between federal and regional authorities and could harden political fault lines already apparent in the legislature.

The showdown has heightened scrutiny of parliamentary procedure and internal discipline in the House of the People, which plays a central role in shepherding constitutional changes. Lawmakers opposed to the amendments have used procedural challenges and disruptive tactics to slow debate, while leadership has tightened enforcement of chamber rules to keep proceedings on track.

The suspensions are likely to test whether the lower house can proceed with a unified agenda in the days ahead or whether the punitive step fuels additional pushback from those who see the reform process as illegitimate or overly centralized. With multiple stakeholders warning of the stakes for Somalia’s federal future, the path to a completed constitution remains fraught — and the tone inside parliament may determine how, and whether, that path is navigated.

• 19 lawmakers suspended by Somalia’s lower house for disrupting sessions
• Action announced by acting speaker Abdullahi Omar Abshirow after Feb. 2 chaos
• Parliamentary security ordered to enforce the ban
• Suspensions deepen standoff over proposed constitutional amendments

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.